Nightmares

Sarah dreams of monsters

Chasing her up and down the streets,

In a ghostly New York City.

She is screaming for help,

But the words are caught in her throat

Coming out as nothing more

Than a long, slow gasp.

This is the dream she cannot wake up from,

The life she’s lived

For so many years.

---

Melly dreams of a sister

She can look up to.

One that will drive her to school,

Stay up late with her.

One she will fight with,

But still love.

Instead, she watches

As this once vibrant life

Fades into insanity.

---

Mom dreams of the past,

Of soccer games and girl scout meetings,

Which have now turned into doctor visits

And psychiatrist appointments.

She dreams of the way things were,

Two happy, healthy daughters,

Not the one she’s lost to a world she can’t see

And the one who sits in the backseat,

Quiet

As her sister controls their lives.

---

Daddy dreams he could do more,

More juggling two jobs

To pay for medical bills.

He wants to be there as his baby girls grow up.

The way he sees them,

Asleep,

You’d never know

The way their waking hours haunt them.

With their eyes closed,

They are the same,

The girls he cares about

More than life.